1 Kings 12:4 (NIV) "Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you." Click here to read more!

Our Staff

Meet Our Staff & Ministry Leaders

Brian Gordon - Senior PastorBrian has been the Senior Pastor of Riverside since January of 2007. Brian is a native Salemite, who attended Salem schools and graduated from Salem High. After graduating from John Wesley College in High Point, NC he pastored in Greensboro, NC for 7 years before coming home to Salem. His passions are outreach, drama, and preaching and teaching in a relevant and understandable way. He loves to use drama, the occasional magic trick, or a costume to make his point.

Barbara Overstreet - Secretary & Choir Director
Barbara has been on staff at Riverside since 1991. She wears many hats. She is the secretary, she plays the piano, she directs the choir, she helps coordinate the praise team, she schedules all the special music... and the list goes on. Barbara can always be found around the church volunteering in one capacity or another. We are blessed to have her.

Jeff Clinevell - Director of Youth MinistriesJeff has been on staff at Riverside since September of 2012 and has worked in various management positions in the business world. As a football, baseball and basketball coach he has had the opportunity to be a mentor to many young men. He is passionate about reaching young men and women, boys and girls for Christ; especially young men who do not have a father figure at home. Jeff oversees Fireproof Student Ministries, which encompasses middle school, high school and college and career.

Dawn Kirby - Director of Children's Ministries
Dawn joined the leadership team at Riverside at the end of 2012. Dawn has a passion for children. She brings great organizational and administrative skills to the position. In her short time as Director of Children's Ministries she has overseen the consolidation of children's ministries, the implementation of new safety measures to insure the well-being of our children while they are with us and the development of new ministries. We are truly blessed to have her at Riverside.

Service Times

The Life-Light

1-2 The Word was first,the Word present to God,God present to the Word.The Word was God,in readiness for God from day one.

Everything was created through him;nothing—not one thing!—came into being without him.What came into existence was Life,and the Life was Light to live by.The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness;the darkness couldn’t put it out.

There once was a man, his name John, sent by God to point out the way to the Life-Light. He came to show everyone where to look, who to believe in. John was not himself the Light; he was there to show the way to the Light.

The Life-Light was the real thing:Every person entering Lifehe brings into Light.He was in the world,the world was there through him,and yet the world didn’t even notice.He came to his own people,but they didn’t want him.But whoever did want him,who believed he was who he claimedand would do what he said,He made to be their true selves,their child-of-God selves.These are the God-begotten,not blood-begotten,not flesh-begotten,not sex-begotten.